


Lies, Spies, and Organizational Ties

by Alternate_Akela, Wynterasiuuki



Category: Original Work
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Dystopia, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Happy Backstory Whats That, Post-Apocalypse, Revenge, Revolution, Romance, Torture, Torture the Cinnamon Rolls, Trauma, World War III, Wow That's A Lot Of Emotional Damage, evolved humans, the authors regret nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 02:20:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18401165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alternate_Akela/pseuds/Alternate_Akela, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wynterasiuuki/pseuds/Wynterasiuuki
Summary: The world is in shambles after countless disasters ravage humanity- some of which are a direct effect of humanity's choices reflected back upon themselves.Three friends find each other in a crumbling society and do what they need to in order to survive. Their lines of work are ones filled with constant danger, and as they try to help new friends, they discover a sinister force that wants to do nothing but subdue humanity and bend it to their will. Fighting the festering evil would be a test of trust, courage, and sacrifice- are they ready for the challenge?Lives are brought into the world, lives are lost at its hands, and lives are forever changed by their own choices. These friends thought they were alone in the world- but when those who stand alone see what they can be when they stand together- great and terrible things are brought about. This is their story. A story of lies, spies, and organizational ties.





	Lies, Spies, and Organizational Ties

_Lying._

_That's all people seem to do nowadays._

_Either you become a liar or you trust a liar._

_Everyone's entangled in a dark web of mistrust._

_Spies are everywhere._

_People grab for power._

_They rise._

_Others fall._

_Systems and organizations take root._

_We make our move._

_This is our story._

_A story of Lies, Spies, and Organizational Ties._

* * *

 

She missed the sun. She never thought she would say that, considering all the miserably hot summers she remembered as a kid. But she was 4 months into a cold-as-shit winter and had only seen brief glimpses of the celestial fireball.

Diane had packed herself under 4 layers of thermal clothing. Over it all she was draped in one of her signature fur coats that ended midcalf. Her feet were clad in knee high leather boots and under it all, she was _still_ cold.

She trudged down the dark street towards in the direction of the apartment. Her face was pale and her hands were stiff. What she wouldn't give for the Portuguese sun on her face again.

But she knew it could wait; she had a more important matter on her hands.

She clutched a large and bulky satchel to her side and cumbersome packages in her hands as she navigated the icy path, trying not to slip and fall and potentially break their contents. She had gotten them an hour ago and was personally making sure they got delivered to their soon-to-be owner. She would be damned if her friend had to live another day in such a deplorable workspace.

Ten minutes later, she was knocking furiously on a fifth floor apartment door. The building was filthy by her standards, and she was considering just flat out moving her friend to the better side of the city, closer to her.

The door burst open and Lena stood there, clad in her PJs and a switchblade in hand.

“Diane! What is it?! Are you in trouble? Should we-"

“Calm down! We’re not in trouble, but you will be if you leave me in the cold another minute,” Diane snapped. Lena took a step back as she glared and opened the door wider. Diane stepped into the warm apartment and scrutinizingly looked at her surroundings. The floor was cheap and uneven in places, the counters were no better, the sink was old and had rusted around the drain, the dining table looked like it was a poor restoration rather than newly bought, and she felt the need to right-out puke at her recliner and mini sofa. They were old, ripped in places, had a horrendous floral pattern, and smelled like they hadn't been washed in a millennia.

“HEY! I know that look on your face. Yes, I know it’s not great, but it's the best I've had in a long time. So if you’re here to judge me, you can shut it and leave,” Lena spat. She was running on little sleep and a workload of stress; she didn't need her coworker on her ass about how ugly her sofa was.

“Well, lucky for you, I’ve decided to be proactive rather than judge from a distance. And we are going to start in your office!” Diane announced.

“What- What’s wrong with my office!?” Lena gasped in offense.

“Just about everything, sweetheart. The biggest problem I have is with your _computers_.” She stepped into the side room that functioned as Lena's office. “How on earth do you run _anything_ on this piece of crap?!”

With a hand she gestured to the 34-year-old PC that sat under her desk and the cracked monitor that sat caddy corner to a ten-year-old laptop that had seen better days.

“I know it’s not the most efficient, but I fixed all three of those by myself- they’re old but they can run the most modern programs!” she said with pride in her voice.

“While that _is_ impressive, I _refuse_ to let you continue using them. Have this.” Diane said as she set down her bags and handed the shoulder satchel to her friend. Lena looked at her skeptically as she took the bag. Diane gestured again and Lena opened the bag to investigate.

Her eyes went wide and she let out what sounded like a muffled choking sound. She set the bag down, backed away, and crouched onto her knees, still looking at the bag. She then got up and squealed like a child.

Diane flinched and covered her ears. She stared at Lena in concern as the girl began twirling around the room. Diane had expected a polite thank you and maybe a little happy dance or something- not _this._

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!!!” Lena screamed as she practically vibrated with joy.

“I- well- I mean- glad you like it? I can get you the updated model as soon as they debug it.” Diane tried.

“Are you kidding?!” Lena said, spinning on her heels, “You got me the highest power laptop Dell has ever offered- and these things aren't even on the MARKET yet!”

“I have my ways,” Diane smirked. “Now, we can’t have you going out like that. Go get dressed.”

“Go out? Why? Where are we going?”

“Out to eat,” Diane explained. “What, did you think we were gonna let you sit around by yourself on your _birthday?_  I don’t think so.”

“Who’s _we?_ ” Lena asked suspiciously.

“Oh, Allura’s meeting us over there. She said she found this really cool Chinese place she thinks you’ll like.”

“Oh my god, y’all are the best!”

“We know,” Diane grinned. “Now hurry up and get out of your PJs. You know Lura’s not very patient.”

“Alright, alright! I’m going already!”

“And dress decently! It’s a nice place uptown!”

A drawn-out groan echoed through the apartment. “That means I have to do my _hair!_  You should have called me earlier.”

“Deal with it. Hurry up.”

Lena sighed and headed toward her bedroom to get ready. She hadn’t showered since Monday night because she had been holed up in her apartment with work, sitting in front of her old and repurposed computers trying to breach a security system in northern Manhattan so the agency could go on site to _collect_ some owed debts.

Walking across the hall with a robe in hand, she entered the bathroom and pulled the rusty handle to her shower. It groaned in protest as the water pipes hummed to life. The cold water eventually gave way to a warm flow and Lena quickly stepped under the spray.

She didn't take too long in the shower and turned off the water after a few short minutes. She gazed at her reflection in the misty mirror thoughtfully. Her body was not without its scars, clearly displaying that she had never had an easy life. Despite this, she felt content as she saw herself. Life had given her a bad hand and she had made the best of it. Now she was living a life she felt she could be proud of. Maybe to a normal person, living as a hacker and thief for hire wasn't ideal- but it was what she knew, and was also something she found delightfully exciting.

Wrapping a towel around herself, she opened the door and peered out of the bathroom. Seeing her friend’s shadow in her kitchen gave her the confidence to sprint down the short hall and into her room. Her closet didn’t have much, but it was all she ever could need. Pulling out her favorite red bodycon dress, Lena smiled and slipped it on.

It was simple in design: a bright red that clung to her curves with off the shoulder sleeves that had a bit of a flair. No sparkle, no extra jazz, just simple and classic.

She looked into her vanity mirror and began drying her wet locks and placing them into a tight bun on the back if her head. She applied minimal makeup and walked back out to see Diane, standing in the kitchen that was now filled with shiny new appliances.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that her couch had a navy blue couch cover on it, along with several cashmere blankets.

“Diane, what the hell?” she asked with a gesture of her hand. “Was this the stuff in those other bags?”

“Yes- but honestly, those were only the things I could get on short notice. If this place wasn't the most convenient and safe location for you, I would have had you moved into something nicer immediately,” she grumbled, curling a loose fist under her chin and giving her friend a pout.

“Why are you so worried?” Lena asked. “It's not like you sleep here.”

“Well, _you_ sleep here. The fact that someone as talented as you has to sleep on a seven-year-old mattress is just horrible!” she stated, spreading her arms for emphasis.

“Seven years isn't even that old,” Lena countered. Diane grimaced as though someone had asked her to shoot a puppy.

" _N_ _ot old?_ Hun- if you were somewhere cleaner it would be fine- but these walls and carpet are _filthy_. That mattress probably has more bed bugs in it than the sky does stars.”

“That is literally impossible.”

“You get my point! It doesn't matter, I'm having some people get you a new one by tomorrow. While they do that, another person is coming in to deep clean this place,” Diane declared with a tone of finality.

“Where am I supposed to work in the meantime?” Lena demanded. “That's probably going to take more than a day and I have a deadline next Tuesday.”

“You'll sleep at my place, obviously,” Diane said dismissively.

There was no arguing with her at this point and Lena knew it. She sighed, a small smile forming on her face at her friend’s insistent graciousness.

“All right, all right, _thank you_ ,” Lena finally surrendered to Diane’s kindness with a small roll of her eyes.

“You’re very welcome. Now let’s get going.” Both girls layered on their coats and gloves before stepping out into the cold.

* * *

 

 

Allura walked down the avenue with confidence and purpose in her step. She never parked very close to where she was going, lest someone try to track her by her car. Sure, that meant she had to walk a bit, but that was a small price to pay for caution, in her mind.

She wore an emerald green silk dress that ended around her knees and elegantly flowed off one shoulder, accented by simple gold jewelry. She had pinned her hair in a French updo to complete the look. She had a long tan coat on to shield against the cold and a matching handbag to boot. Eyes followed her as she walked, but she ignored the onlookers. She had somewhere to be.

At last, she found the place she was looking for: a simple Chinese restaurant whose name Allura couldn't pronounce- though she did know its translation, _A Quiet Place to Eat_. She had never really eaten at Chinese restaurants as a kid, so she hadn't really been exposed to the oriental cuisine. She wasn’t _opposed_ to the idea of going here; she did enjoy trying new foods and styles every once in a while.

Entering the restaurant, she noticed it was quieter than it should be on a Friday night. Of course, that was how Allura had asked the manager of the place to make it. It wasn't a big deal for her to pay a little extra to ensure a quiet evening with her friends, especially since it was Lena’s unofficial birthday.

“Reservation for Allura Black, please,” she said as she stepped up to the desk.

The hostess there smiled. “Ah yes, Miss Black. We’ve been expecting you. Right this way.”

Allura returned her smile out of courtesy and followed the woman to the back of the restaurant and into a small, private, room-like booth. A wall of thick glass separated them from the rest of the business, and a table for three was already set for the group.

“My friends will be joining me shortly,” she told the hostess.

“That’s perfectly fine. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?"

“Just a lemonade, please.” Allura had never been a huge fan of sodas, so the sweet drink would suit her just fine.

“Yes ma'am, I'll be right back with that then.” With that, the woman left Allura to her own devices. She immediately pulled out her cell phone to call Diane, who picked up immediately. “Are you on your way?”

Diane scoffed and replied, “Of course we are. We’re down the block now, should be there within ten minutes.”

“Alright, don’t dally,” she warned. Diane huffed again and hung up.

Before settling down, Allura pulled out a small device from her bag. With a push of a button it turned on and gave a short beep, signalling its activation. With it on, there wouldn't be a risk of any sort of eavesdropping within a ten foot radius of the booth since the gadget would interfere with any kind of recording.

Allura sat with a frown; she hated silence and wasted time. Not a moment after that thought, her phone rang again. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was her supervisor. She sighed and answered the call.

“This is Black.”

“Hope you didn’t make any weekend plans, because I’ve got a job for you,” he barked, his voice sounding rough and raspy through the receiver.

“Fill me in then. I don’t have a lot of time, so let’s get this over with quickly.” They has never been very formal with one another, always speaking their minds rather casually.

“A client wants to get their hands on twenty liters of BioVex, and the best supplier we know of is in France with a second operation in New Los Angeles. Once we get the goods, I'm going to need you to fly out to California to sell the deal. The buyer’s willing to pay a hefty price to get his delivery in person.”

“Ok, when do you need me to arrive there?” Allura asked.

“We booked you a flight on Sunday morning at 9:45. The deal is to take place that same night at 10, right on the beach in front of the Boardwalk Ice Cream Shop. I’ll send you an email with the details.”

“That’s settled, then. I’ll await your email.”

“Oh, and you might want to remember that the New Los Angeles Police Department is much stricter than most. If they so much as suspect anything fishy going on, they’ll have 20 officers on it, so whatever you do, _do not_ give them any reason to suspect you,” he warned.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” And with that, Allura hung up, and not a moment too soon. Diane and Lena walked into the restaurant and followed the hostess to where Allura was seated. The waitress returned, bringing Allura's lemonade as the rest of the girls took their seats.

“Evening, ladies, and happy birthday, Lena!” Allura congratulated.

“Thanks, guys.” Lena smiled, somewhat embarrassed by the show of affection from her friends.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?” asked the waitress as the group accommodated themselves.

“I’ll take a champagne,” said Diane.

“Water for me,” Lena said.

The waitress nodded. “Anything else?”

“Could you also bring out some wine?” Allura added.

“Black or red?”

“Black, of course,” Allura grinned. After the woman left, she addressed her friends. “So how is everyone this fine evening?”

“Very surprised,” Lena laughed.

“What, did you think we were going to let you sit around watching romcoms or something like that on your _birthday?_  I don’t think so,” Diane said.

“It’s probably not even my actual birthday,” Lena sighed.

“Well, since no one knows when your actual birthday is, celebrating it on the anniversary of the day you joined you’re agency seemed like a good idea,” Allura said. “Doesn’t matter, anyway. Tonight is one of the very few nights of the year where we get to forget our jobs and _relax._ ” Her violet eyes lit up at the prospect.

“Agreed,” said Diane with finality. In that moment, the waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders. Allura immediately reached for her wine and took a sip.

“I wonder what wine tasted like back in the day when it was still made with grapes,” Allura thought aloud.

“Well, blackberry wine suits me just fine,” Lena laughed.

Thirty minutes and one meal later, the girls watched the news and chatted. The party of the year was coming up and yet another missing person case was reported on the restaurant’s TV screen.

“Not another one,” Lena sighed. “And this one is a child! How awful!”

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Allura murmured. The girl was quite obviously Enhanced, with faintly glowing pink showing through her otherwise black hair. She had dark skin, and was no older than nine. But what really caught their attention were her eyes. They were a bright neon magenta with purple flecks.

“The poor girl,” Diane said.

“She’s probably dead by now,” Allura sighed. “She didn’t deserve a fate like that. And you know what the government is doing? Absolutely _nothing._ They don’t care about the people. They just go around declaring war on every nation that disagrees with them and make the citizens pay the price! People are living on the streets, and countries are starving, the list goes on! Hell, they were the ones who accidentally created Enhanced humans!”

“Life’s not much better for the rest of the world,” Diane pointed out. “Not a single country’s government is doing anything to help the people recover from the bombings. World War III was _fifty years ago,_ and communities are still facing the consequences of a war they had no part in. Water levels are still rising dramatically. It’s a fucked up world, that’s the only truth left.”

“Ugh, preach,” Allura agreed, holding up her glass in assent.

“It’s a good thing there are people like us to keep things in check,” Lena said.

“We sure have a strange way of ‘keeping things in check,’ seeing as you’re a hacker and thief, I’m a dealer, and you’re a hitwoman,” Allura chuckled softly, pointing at Lena, herself, and Diane in turn.

“It’s funny how people like us are the good guys,” Lena said.

“We’re not really _good guys_ , exactly. We’re more like mercenaries,” Allura corrected. “We work for whoever pays us.”

“Unless they’re connected to the government,” Diane muttered.

“I want you both to agree to one thing,” Lena told them, her tone serious as she took a long sip of her wine. “No matter what happens, promise me you will _never_ work for those bastards.”

“Deal,” Diane and Allura said unanimously.

Allura decided to change the subject. “So, anything interesting going on at work?”

“Not really,” Lena sighed. “I’m still trying to hack that security system in Manhattan. I should be done by tomorrow. If you guys hadn’t picked me up, I would’ve done it tonight.”

“Work on your birthday? Good Lord, don’t you know how to celebrate?” Diane chastised. She turned to Allura. “Next on my list right now is some rich lady who scammed the wrong guy. Sounds like a total bitch.”

“Fun,” Allura said lightly. “Apparently I’m headed to New Los Angeles this weekend. A client wants his shipment of BioVex to be delivered in person, so I’m flying over Sunday morning. It’s a simple job, really, but it pays well. I should be back by Monday night.”

“So nothing that interesting, I guess. It’s been pretty quiet working for the agency lately,” Diane noted.

“Don’t jinx it,” Allura muttered.

As if on cue, a phone rang again, but this time it was Diane’s supervisor. “Excuse me,” she said and walked over to the corner of the room out of habit. When she was out of earshot, she answered. “Agent Sercan here.”

“Is Kordel with you?” he asked. “I have a job for the both of you.” Intrigued, Diane beckoned to Lena, who joined her friend.

“She’s here,” Diane affirmed after she had put the call on speaker.

“Good. I’m sure both of you have heard about the MaraLee Ball this weekend, correct?” Both of their eyes widened at the mention. Only a small group of rich and powerful people in the country were hand-picked to attend the celebration.

“Yes, we’ve heard,” Lena said. The MaraLee ball was the “party of the year” the news had mentioned earlier. Everyone knew about it. Both women knew full well where this was going.

“We have a client who is willing to pay a hefty sum to have you two to break in and steal a few choice items. I sent you both emails with pictures. This could either go very well, since there’s a ball to distract everyone from your intentions, or it could go very badly, seeing as if you’re caught there will be hundreds of witnesses. Are you up for it?”

“Hmmm,” Diane pondered. “It’s risky.” She looked over at Lena, whose expression was bitter and determined.

“We’ll do it,” she said.

“I suppose that settles it, then,” he confirmed. “All the information you’ll need is in the emails. Good luck.” And with that, he hung up.

The girls walked back to the table and took their places. “Well, change of plans,” Diane announced. “Looks like we’re breaking into the MaraLee ball.”

“You’re _what?_ ” Allura exclaimed. “ _T_ _he_ _MaraLee ball?_ Are you insane?”

“I’ve always hated rich people who don’t have to work a single day of their lives and yet they have the whole world handed to them on a diamond-encrusted platter. Here we are, working our asses off, and we get nothing for it. It’s absolute bullshit!” Lena said in a frustrated manner.

“It looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into the subject,” Allura laughed.

“You act like we don’t get paid for this stuff.” Diane added, sounding mildly amused.

“I grew up with _nothing_ and these people wouldn’t spare a dime for someone like me.”

“I will interject here and say that I personally give a quarter of my checks to the three families that live down the block from me. Each one has at least four mouths to feed on one or two minimum wage paychecks.” Diane said. “What I earn is more than they would know what to do with! I’ll also pitch in with their rent every once in a while.”

“And I can tell you're very modest about that fact,” Allura deadpanned. “Though it is nice of you to do that.”

“Doing that could be dangerous, you know.” Lena warned.

“I know that. It’s an anonymous drop-off once a month. They think it’s child support or government refunds,” Diane said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Their conversation drifted as they waited for their dessert to arrive.

_BANG! BANG!_

The calm evening was interrupted by the ear-splitting sound of gunshots. Two men, both wearing ski masks and gripping a gun in hand, burst through the staff entrance and sent the few people left in the restaurant scattering.

“So much for ‘A Quiet Place to Eat,’” Allura sighed.

All three girls pulled out various weapons from secret compartments all over their persons. Allura grabbed two identical knives from her jacket sleeves, while Lena and Diane both reached for the pistols stashed in their coats. The trio silently left the glass compartment and walked around the corner. One of the men found a hostess hiding under her desk and brought her out at gunpoint.

“Drop your weapons or this one dies!” he shouted.

Allura stepped forward calmly, her knives still in hand. “Now, now. No need for the dramatics,” she said smoothly. “Perhaps we can make a deal that leaves everyone happy.”

“We’re not interested in your deals,” said the other man, his gun pointed right at Allura’s chest. “We get our money and go. If you stay out of our way, we might spare you. If not-” he cocked his gun- “we’ll blow you to bits.”

“Hmm, I was thinking something more along the lines of you leaving here without the money that’s most certainly _not_ yours, and we’ll spare your lives.” Allura hissed.

" _W_ _e’re not interested in your deals!_ ” both men snarled.

Allura had had enough. She flicked her wrist and Lena shot into action. She dropped to the ground and fired a well aimed warning shot that broke through a window and grazed the man holding the hostage, lightly clipping his ear.  The man faltered and turned to quickly line up his shot at her.

A sorry mistake.

Allura flung her knife across the room and, with deadly accuracy, sent it through the man's hand and speared through the gun. He screamed in pain and dropped the horrified hostess, who was now sprayed with his blood. She wasted no time in running to the kitchen and locking herself in there with the rest of the staff.

“She’s probably calling the police,” Lena muttered. “Let’s finish this.”

The men were not done, however. The injured one had pulled the blade out of his profusely bleeding hand and was pointing it threateningly at the trio. The other man had not wavered in keeping his gun ready to fire.

“Those knives are two of a kind. I’d like that back please,” Allura said with a false sweetness to her voice.

The statement triggered shots to be exchanged between the two parties, but neither met their mark in the frenzy.

“Guys, we need to get out of here,” Diane whispered sharply as she ducked behind a counter. “Before the police show up.”

As the robbers fired at the girls, they managed to maneuver their way out back. They found themselves in a dark alley lined with garbage bins for the surrounding restaurants. The girls began to laugh at the situation and knew they only had to wait a moment to finish things before leaving. Then a realization came to Allura.

“Hey, we didn’t even get to sing happy birthday,” she commented.

“And hopefully you never will.” The robbers had followed them to the back as they had planned and were now glaring threateningly at them, one with Allura’s knife in hand, the other now charging towards them. There was no hesitation from the agents as they shot into action.

Lena grabbed the reckless attacker by the arm and swung him into the nearest brick wall. Then, without a breath, she kicked him in the back, her stiletto heel going straight through. They heard a sickening crack before the man collapsed to the floor in a pool of his own blood, quickly bleeding out from his likely severed spine.

The other man stood still for a brief second, shock prevalent on his face. That moment was long enough for Diane’s bullet to go right through his skull.

Allura stepped over his body and carefully pried her knife out of his hand. “I’ll take that, thank you.” she muttered to the corpse.

“Well, there’s no use in sticking around,” Lena said.

“No,” Diane agreed as she started scaling the fence that led towards the street, “but we still have to do something about the fact that we didn’t get to eat dessert _or_ sing happy birthday.”

“We can all head over to my place. I have gelato,” Allura suggested, following after her.

“Ooh, I love gelato!” Lena exclaimed and she jumped down to the other side.

“That’s settled, then. You are both welcome to stay the night if you so choose,” Allura offered.

“This’ll be fun,” Diane said. “Looks like this worked out after all!”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the three of them walked towards the front of the apartment complex that acted as Allura's current residence. The trio walked through the double doors and entered the marble-floored building.

Allura led them across the lobby and into the elevator, pushing the top floor button. That particular apartment building did not have a penthouse, but the top floor was divided into two apartments that were larger than the rest. One was occupied by the Blacks, and the other was occupied by an elderly woman who never left the comforts of home.

The elevator opened to reveal a short hallway with a door at each end. The girls went to the right, and Allura unlocked the door to let them in.

“Hey, Lura! You’re home early!” There in the living room was an eight-year-old boy in a wheelchair playing some video game.

“Hi, Nico!” Allura greeted her brother. “Did you feed Gilbert like I asked?” As if in response to his name, a vividly colored dart frog let out a loud croak from within his terrarium.

“Yeah, I did,” he replied. “Oh hey, Diane! Hey Lena! I didn’t know you guys were coming over.”

“Neither did we,” Diane laughed.

“We didn’t like the dessert at the restaurant, so we’re going to have some gelato here,” Allura lied. She’d never told Nico about her job, or anything connected to it. She didn’t want to worry him, since he had enough on his plate with his paralysis.

“Oooh, can I have some?” he asked excitedly.

“Of course you can,” Allura said sweetly. “How’s your game coming along?”

“It’s awesome. I’m trying to beat this really hard boss right now.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Lena said. "Good luck."

“Do you have any games all four of us can play?” Allura asked.

“You read my mind,” he grinned.

* * *

 

They ate their gelato, sang happy birthday to Lena, and played video games with Nico until he started to nod off. Then Allura took him over to his bedroom and made sure he got into bed safely. Lena and Diane watched from the doorway.

“Lura, can you sing me a song?” Nico asked her, eyes wide with childlike innocence.

She paused before answering, knowing full well that her friends were watching. She gave them a apologetic glance before quietly shutting the door. But while it cut off their line of sight, it only muffled the sound coming from the other side.

“Alright. Which one do you want to hear?”

“Clair de la Lune!” he exclaimed.

“I sing that one almost every night!”

“But it sounds so pretty when you sing it. Please, Lura?”

Allura chuckled. “Ok, ok.” She cleared her throat before beginning.

“ _Au clair de la lune,_

_Mon ami Pierrot,_

_Prête-moi ta plume_

_Pour écrire un mot._

_Ma chandelle est morte,_

_Je n’ai plus de feu._

_Ouvre-moi ta porte_

_Pour l’amour de Dieu.”_

Seeing that her brother was satisfied, Allura ruffled his hair and bid him good night before exiting the room to join her friends.

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Lena said, looking at Allura with surprise.

“Well, I don’t need to sing at work, so I never felt the need to bring it up,” she replied simply. “I use music as therapy, I guess. You can find a song about almost anything, so I use that to express myself to no one in particular.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Diane commented. “On another note, do you have any more gelato?”

“You ate a whole pint already!” Allura chuckled, astonished at her friend’s high metabolism. “If you’re still hungry, you can eat a granola bar.”

Diane scowled in disgust. “On second thought, I’m full.”

“Well if that’s all, we should go to bed. It’s late,” Allura noted.

“Are you kidding? It’s only eleven,” Lena said, surprised at her friend.

“I don’t do well on small amounts of sleep,” Allura explained. “Besides, I have a flight to California in two days, apparently.”

Diane and Lena looked at each other, then back at their friend. “Pathetic,” they both sighed.

“Oh, come now, you could use the rest yourselves. You have to infiltrate the MaraLee Ball, in case you’d forgotten."

“Ugh, fine.”

* * *

 

 

“Lena, stop hogging the sink!” Allura growled at her friend. “You’re not the only one in this apartment! I forgot to take my contacts out!”

“ _O_ _oooooooh_ , I’ve never seen you without your contacts before!” Diane exclaimed, swinging around the corner and briskly walking towards Allura.

“It’s really not a big deal,” Allura muttered.

“YES IT IS! Stop downplaying this historic event!”

“Why do you have to be so damned dramatic?”

“Clearly you have failed to realize that Diane’s sole purpose in life is to be extra,” said Lena as she opened the bathroom door.

“Ok, fine,” Allura succumbed to her friend’s theatrics. “Welcome, ladies, to the reveal of Allura Madeline Black’s real eye color!”

Both Lena and Diane stood around Allura as she prepared to remove the purple contacts. With a blink and tap on the sides of her eyes they went from a vibrant violet to a deep, dark green. She then pulled the lenses from her eyes and placed them in a small metal case to disinfect and charge.

“Oh my god, your eyes are so pretty!,” Diane gushed,  “I’ve only ever seen that shade in Arctic Evergreens! It’s not cold enough for them to grow down here and they get that color from the mix of iron in the soil! I’ve been trying to find that shade in a dress for _years_ now! You have to come with me to my designer so she can see it!” Diane went on and on, until she was finally breathless.

“Are you done?” Allura mumbled, embarrassed. “It’s just a pair of green eyes, no big deal.”

Diane glared directly into Allura’s eyes. “ _It’s. Arctic. Flared. Evergreen."_ she hissed.

“Okay, okay, they’re Arctic Flared Evergreen. Happy?”

“I am now,” Diane grinned.

Walking into the master bedroom, the three girls collapsed into Allura’s massive king sized bed, each finding a side they preferred and getting comfortable.

“Alright then, drama queen.  _Good night_. Good night, Lena,” Allura sighed.

“Good night!” Diane giggled.

“Night girls,” Lena muttered.

The rest of the night was peacefully silent.

Or-

At least it _was_.

All three girls were awakened by the loud sound of someone’s phone ringing.

Allura groaned, still half asleep. “What the hell? It’s three o’clock in the morning. Whose phone is that?”

“Sounds like mine,” Diane grumbled, reaching for her mobile phone. The voice of her boss came over the line, sounding strangely frantic.

“Agent Sercan. We need you at the Sanduski safe house ASAP. He’s back.” Diane’s eyes widened with shock and she shot up as the line went dead.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So we wanted to say that the three of us who wrote this put a lot of time and effort into perfecting this- yes, there are THREE authors to this work. We wanted to put this out there, we made this chapter over the course of around three-ish months and have only now posted it. This means that chapters take a while for us... a long while. As it is a group effort, we try keep our content high quality because that is the standard we hold ourselves to. If you like the chapter let us know and show your support! Encouragement may prompt faster posts but we make no promises! Thank you all so much for reading!


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